Darth Vader - R - 12-Inch Figures

Darth Vader is a powerful Sith lord dedicated to crushing the Jedi and seizing control of the galaxy.

Don't judge a book by its cover. Otherwise, you'll think that 2014's R Darth Vader figure might be sourced from Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith. No, just like it's original release in 2013, this version of Darth Vader is based on his appearances from Episode V and Episode VI. Hasbro is certainly making the most of their 2013 SW [DV/ROTS] Darth Vader 12-Inch Figure sculpt. The differences between all of the Darth Vader costumes gets exhausting to itemize over and over again. But between differently colored details on the chest box to whether the robes go under or over the chest armor, the Darth Vader 12-Inch Figure in the Star Wars toy line just hasn’t delivered the quality product it should have to Star Wars collectors of all ages. For the Rebels line, Hasbro has opted to re-release the version of Darth Vader that they released in the Star Wars [Darth Vader/Revenge Of The Sith] line. It may have been the perfect opportunity to retool the head sculpt and make a Rebels-inspired Darth Vader figure instead, but that sadly wasn't in the plans. SO we get the same old figure once again. With red and blue lights on the chest box and an inferior soft-goods cape, Darth Vader hasn’t aged any better since his original release a year before this version.

This Darth Vader figure is tired and should be put to bed for good now. As you know, Darth Vader was one of the first “shampoo bottles” Hasbro ever produced, and they didn’t have the template perfected. Darth Vader is much too lanky, comes with a poorly cut soft-goods cape and has a lightsaber hilt permanently affixed to his right hand. Oh, and the plastic used to cast him in is much too shiny. It’s ridiculous how much he glistens in the littlest bit of light. We all understand how important it is for Hasbro to keep Darth Vader in the toy line at all times, but this figure isn't one of those figures they should be reissuing. One would think that Hasbro would have tooled an all-new version of Darth Vader to make him more relevant to the modern era, especially since so many of the newer 12-Inch Figures look infinitely better by comparison. This 12-Inch Figure of him is no longer working. It’s time to tool an all-new figure from here on out. Darth Vader comes with the same seven (7) points of articulation as he always has. Movement like this doesn’t do much to help you pose the figure meaningfully. We cannot stand that the hilt of the lightsaber is permanently affixed to his right hand. The blade, however, is removable, so you get options here.

While Hasbro added swivel wrist movement to this sculpt, Darth Vader still only comes with a swivel head, two swivel shoulders and two swivel hips which again does very little for the kid or collector. Besides, the arms hang so closely to the body that the range of movement of them is greatly inhibited. The good news is that the swivel wrists do help to allow you to pose the lightsaber in some optional ways, but it’s still not ideal by any means. Darth Vader disappointingly comes with a very poor quality cut soft-goods cape. It’s essentially a felt triangular-shaped piece of fabric that is permanently attached to the figure. With a little patience, you can attain a rather believable drape with it, but it looks cheap, and no consideration was made to make it look aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Darth Vader has been cast in a very cheap plastic that is much too shiny for his good. It’s a shame that Hasbro decided to reissue this figure when they’re making better figures currently. When fully displayed, at first glance Darth Vader may not look that bad to you. But we can assure you that unfortunate sacrifices have been made to keep this figure within Hasbro’s tooling budget and subsequent MSRP of less than $10. And for all intents and purposes, that’s exactly what you’re getting here.